Browsing: July

A Brief History On July 26, 2016, engineer André Borschberg and psychiatrist and balloonist Bertrand Piccard, both from Switzerland, made history with their solar powered airplane, Solar Impulse, when they completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth by a solar powered fixed wing aircraft. Digging Deeper Solar Impulse was the second plane of that name, sometimes called Solar Impulse 2. A single seat monoplane with four electric motors each powering a propeller fed by electricity from photovoltaic cells on the wings, the plane is capable of cruising at 56 mph, slowing to 37 mph at night, with a max speed…

A Brief History On July 25, 2010, the web media non-profit organization, WikiLeaks, released a trove of American secret documents regarding the War in Afghanistan, commonly referred to as “The Afghan War Diary” or “Afghan War documents leak.” Digging Deeper Although WikiLeaks somehow got their hands on 91,000 classified documents, only 71,000 have been released, allegedly out of consideration for the person or persons that leaked the documents to WikiLeaks who claimed to want to limit damage to US security. While people that leak classified information are liable for severe criminal penalties, there seems to be no shortage of leakers…

A Brief History On July 23, 1982, the set for the film, Twilight Zone: The Movie, became a real-life killing ground when actor Vic Morrow and two child actors were killed when a helicopter crashed into the actors.  Despite revised safety rules after the incident, movies and TV remain a dangerous enterprise. Digging Deeper A recent example in 2021 is the set of Rust, a Western being made by Alec Baldwin, who accidently shot and killed a cinematographer with a real bullet when only blanks were supposed to be on the set. The Wrap quotes the AP as saying 43…

A Brief History On July 20, 1906, Finland ratified a law guaranteeing equal rights to women to vote in political elections, the first European country to do so. Digging Deeper During the 19th Century, women in many countries mounted campaigns to gain the right to vote, a movement called “Women’s Suffrage.”  This movement gained its first success in New Zealand, which became the first self-governing colony to grant universal women’s suffrage in 1893, although women could not run for office. Other colonies, territories, and states had some sort of women’s suffrage, although usually not universal, with restrictions based on race,…

A Brief History On July 19, 1942, the era of good hunting by German U-boats known as the “Second Happy Time” ended, as American and British anti-submarine measures became effective, forcing the German subs away from American coasts and into the Central Atlantic. Digging Deeper The Battle of the Atlantic, a war of German submarines against ships carrying vital cargo to Britain, was perhaps the most critical of the campaigns to determine which side would win World War II.  Italian ships and aircraft were also involved, as were German surface vessels and aircraft, though the sub war was paramount. The…